On May 25th, Nicole Jefferies @jefferiesn Executive Director of Worldwide Customer Fulfillment at Lenovo, delivered one of the most popular keynote addresses at the largest ever Gartner Supply Chain Executive Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This conference attracts nearly 2,000 senior executives from a wide range of industries to discuss strategic topics impacting supply chains around the world. The theme of the 2017 conference was ACT: Aspire, Challenge, and Transform in a Disruptive World.

Nicole’s keynote was titled, “Developing Supply Chain Talent for the Future”. In her opening statement, Nicole said, “At Lenovo, we believe that different is better….and the differences that matter most are in the details”. Nicole’s presentation focused on three topics: creating an inclusive global TEAM, We are Lenovo CULTURE, and Developing TALENT. During her presentation, Nicole shared an interesting personal story that on weekends, she trades her business suit for a fire-retardant racing suit and instructs at high performance auto driving schools. She then compared auto racing to the business world and drew the analogy that Lenovo’s supply chain is the pit crew for Lenovo’s business. In auto racing, when fractions of seconds matter, the efficiency and speed of the pit crew makes a difference in the team results. The same concept applies to a supply chain’s impact on business results.

Nicole shared how Lenovo continues to transform its supply chain for the future. For the subject of “Team”, she highlighted the importance of creating an inclusive diverse global team, setting the right objectives and using technical skills to build the digital supply chain of the future. She mention that Lenovo, as a diverse worldwide company has employees located strategically close to the customers, to understand customer business and needs. These key advantages promote innovation and differentiation among other markets. Regarding “Culture”, Nicole shared the “We are Lenovo” culture, which is comprised of a few simple and clear statements that sets expectations for behavior and creates a common purpose and value system. Lastly, on the subject of developing “Talent”, Nicole shared Lenovo’s skill development framework with 10% of development through training, 20% through relationships and 70% through “learning by doing”.

In closing, Nicole reiterated the statement that the differences that matter most are in the details and when it comes to organizing your TEAM, establishing CULTURE and developing TALENT, the details make the difference and enables business success.